The Chairman of Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC), Hon. Christopher Zakka Maikalangu, has urged President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, security agencies, and relevant authorities to intervene in calling the Federal Capital Territory Internal Revenue Service (FCT-IRS) to order with regards to the collection of revenue belonging to the council.
Speaking to newsmen Tuesday at AMAC headquarters, Maikalangu, who was represented by the Supervisory Councillor for Special Duties, Mr Emmanuel Inyang, said that AMAC has not signed any agreement with FCT-IRS with regards to revenue collection.
This, it was gathered, was in response to a circular allegedly released from FCT-IRS, cited by the Nigerian Tribune newspaper, tagged “Demand Notice, Re: Special Investigation Audit Exercise of All Approved Levies, Rates, Charges, and Fees Related Payments on Sites Deployed in FCT-Abuja from 2010 to 2022,” seeking to raise tax rates.
Maikalangu said that, even at a recent townhall meeting organised by FCT-IRS for the six area councils in the FCT with the aim of revenue harmonisation, the Permanent Secretary of the FCT, Dr Olusade Adesola, said he was the driver of revenue harmonisation but left the meeting halfway and was hence unable to answer questions, leading to the inability to reach any consensus.
The AMAC chairman said that FCT-IRS was harassing AMAC and FCT residents with the aim of making them pay the same taxes they had already paid to AMAC, thereby opening the door to double taxation.
He said that the court had already ruled that AMAC should not pass over the role of revenue collection to a third party, hence the need for FCT-IRS to explain from where it derived its powers to collect revenue on behalf of AMAC.
Maikalangu said that FCT-IRS is preparing the way for anarchy and a breakdown of law and order by harassing AMAC residents for revenue, including the “Park and Pay” policy that is the duty of AMAC.
The Council Chairman, therefore, urged President Tinubu and concerned authorities to, as a matter of urgency, call the FCT-IRS to order before it plunges AMAC and the FCT into anarchy by harassing residents to pay taxes they had already paid to AMAC, even as far back as 2010.
Maikalangu said that the council remains law-abiding and hence will not take laws into its hands, but warned that the council will not sit idly and watch FCT-IRS engage in illegalities such as collecting revenue meant for AMAC.Maikalangu advised residents not to pay revenue to agents purporting to be FCT-IRS; otherwise, they will pay double as only revenue paid into an AMAC account will be acceptable.
In the same breath, Maikalangu urged AMAC residents not to pay revenue to FCT-IRS, but to challenge any official from the Service to go to court for an order that will explain how it came about collecting revenue for AMAC.
He said, “AMAC hasn’t signed any agreement with FCT-IRS with regards to revenue collection in the council. Therefore, the recent moves by FCT-IRS to collect revenue from taxpayers in AMAC are an affront capable of creating anarchy.Imagine the FCT-IRS going to an organisation to demand N3.5 million in tax, some of which had already paid tax to AMAC. So, it is worrisome that our taxpayers are being asked to pay again.
“As you are aware, there is a court judgment barring AMAC Chairman from giving out the powers to revenue collection to any other party. If FCT-IRS wants to collect money for AMAC, it should go to the National Assembly for them to change the constitution because the constitution has mandated AMAC to be collecting revenue.“I want to re-emphasize that AMAC has not signed any agreement with FCT-IRS for the purpose of revenue collection in the council.
Though some people have been making reference that AMAC Chairman signed an agreement in Akure, I want to place it on record that there is nothing of such.What the AMAC chairman signed was a communique he was part of during a conference at Akure.
It was a communique, not an agreement. People should be able to know the difference.”He added: “Also, the council will not sit back and allow illegality to be perpetuated by FCT-IRS. Our task force has been mandated to arrest any illegal tax collectors.In fact, at the town hall meeting organized by FCT-IRS for revenue harmonisation, they admitted that they don’t have the manpower to go about revenue collection, so they should allow us to do our work.
“Security agencies should intervene and call FCT-IRS to order to avoid miscreants taking advantage to extort unsuspecting members of the public. We also don’t want a situation of FCT-IRS clashing with the AMAC task force in the field.FCT is peace-loving and must not be destabilised by FCT-IRS. FCT-IRS must not be above the law.
It must not be above our law courts that have given a verdict of revenue collection in favour of AMAC.“At the aforementioned town hall meeting, the FCT Permanent Secretary said he is the driver of revenue harmonisation but did not stay till the end of the meeting.He left halfway into the meeting and was not able to answer the questions we had for him.
Therefore, he should be called to order, especially on his statements.“As we are all aware, Park and Pay is the duty of the council, which was illegally taken over by FCTA.
It is another illegality. It is troubling when an institution ignores court orders the way FCTA is doing.
The court ordered that Park and Pay be handled by AMAC, and the order has not been vacated. It is subsisting.
So, why is FCTA disobeying the court’s judgement?“We will not take laws into our hands. We will continue to be law-abiding. However, it amounts to double taxation for AMAC residents and business owners to be asked to pay FCT-IRS what they had already paid to AMAC.
Can you imagine that FCT-IRS also wants to collect development levies even from our local markets? Just how low can people go? It is as bad as that.“Therefore, I want to appeal to our taxpayers to ignore the FCT-IRS.
Whenever they bring any demand notice to you as a taxpayer, challenge them.Tell them you won’t pay and for them to go to court to obtain a judgement, or explain if there is any judgement that gives them the power to collect revenue for AMAC.
“If you pay any revenue to FCT-IRS, you are just doing goodwill because you did not pay AMAC. AMAC is the right organisation to pay revenue to.If you pay FCT-IRS, you will pay double when AMAC officials come calling. So do the right thing by paying AMAC.
Please don’t fall victim to the antics of FCT-IRS.”As of the time of filing this report, efforts to reach the Head, Corporate Communication, FCT-IRS, Mustapha Sumaila, proved abortive since he did not reply to messages sent to him nor pick up calls placed to him.